Cuisine of Stormwind
The Kingdom of Azeroth has a distinct and varied food culture, combining provincial recipes with foreign influences and ingredients. The bustling port of Stormwind City allows for the ready importation of spices and exotic ingredients, and the city is now home to a number of exciting foreign fusions. WIP. If you enjoyed this article, please view Cuisine of Azeroth! =Ingredients= .]] Meats The Kingdom's cuisine makes heavy use of both fish and red meats. With rivers and lakes dominating Stormwind's inland provinces and its extensive coast-line, both fresh and saltwater fishes and shellfish are routinely employed. Common sights on the table are beef, pork (including ham and bacon), mutton, clam-derived dishes, bass, catfish, and the delicate sunfish. Meat is often roasted, stewed, fried, or prepared in pies or sausages, while fish dishes are stewed or sauteed. Poultry includes chickens and game birds, often roasted, and the enigmatic imported 'vrocka' bird. Vegetables and Grains Barley porridge is a common meal component for the poorer peoples of Azeroth. It is affordable and significantly less wasteful than making bread or beer, filling and nourishing, and readily available throughout the Kingdom. Other common ingredients include onions - often roasted or stewed - and pumpkins (typically roasted or steamed). When possible, the inhabitants prefer wheat bread (often spiced or with fruits added) to barley bread. Common through the Kingdom is the consumption of beans and peas (especially in stews), and salads feature regularly in many meals. Fruits The temperate climate of much of the Kingdom's holdings are ideal for the cultivation of orchards and vineyards. Grapes are grown in a broad number of varietals intended for consumption or for winemaking, but appear least often on the table. More frequently seen are apples (which grow through most of the Kingdom in, again, a number of varietals) and melons of varying types and various citrus fruits. Prized by the aristocracy are the delicate and delicious strawberries, and a broad variety of imported fruits. Dairy Stormwind has a rich cheese-making tradition, with many of their cheeses being well known and appreciated by gourmands overseas. Softer cheeses are most popular in the Kingdom - brie, camembert, quark and even mozarella all feature heavily, as do smoked cheeses from time to time for specialty dishes. This love affair with cheese extends to the use of it to create rich desserts - cheesecakes and pastries made with quark and sugar. Sheep's milk is drunk and turned to butter, and used in some of the regions harder cheeses. =Provincial Cuisines= Redridge Mountains The Redridge Mountains have developed an eclectic combination of flavour profiles. The presence of the great lake, coupled with large areas of forest and relatively arid hills and mountains, has led to this - fish and forest ingredients are blended readily with those of the arid regions. Dominating the cuisine of Lakeshire are the spotted sunfish from Lake Everstill. These small fish are fried or sauteed and served with a variety of side dishes, often including turnip mash and bread. Other fish from the lake also feature prominently, including perch. These fish are usually roasted, boiled, or fried - they are rarely eaten salted or smoked. The sunfish also attracts murlocs. With recent migration from Westfall, the habit of eating the fish-men has arrived in the Mountains over the last century, and a popular Lakeshire dish is now murloc fin soup, prepared with barley, pepper, and rosemary when possible. Spider meat is used in a number of dishes - typically taken from the legs of the mountain-dwelling giant spiders. While unappealing on its own, the meat is easily used as a filler to extend stews, sausages, and soups. Travellers to the region who indulge in a bowl of the savoury and spicy goulash served in public houses and dining halls have, in all likelihood, eaten spider - along with vulture and pork offcuts. Goulash developed in the region as a way to disguise unappealing cuts of meat using a thick and flavoursome broth, and while originally this thickness came from cartilage-heavy meats, it now comes predominantly from spider meat. One of the most peculiar foodstuffs in the region is a sausage mixture made of boar kidneys (soaked thoroughly in salt water first), tarantula eyes as a binder, and condor offal. The resulting sausage is extremely rich and served with beans, and the meal is extremely hearty and nourishing. While popular with labourers and soldiers year-round, it is mostly served in the public houses and dining halls in late autumn and winter. The bean of choice in the Redridge Mountains is the white bean, usually prepared by soaking, boiling, or stewing, though sometimes ground and added to flour for bread. This bean grows abundantly in the arid regions of the Redridge Mountains and keeps extremely well - it is thus a winter staple. The lupini bean is a popular presence in taverns. This bitter bean is prepared by brining and pickling, and is rarely cooked in any other way. Properly prepared, it is only mildly bitter, with a sweet-and-salty flavour from the pickling process. Pine nuts are also eaten, as the higher areas of the Mountains are home to a healthy population of pine trees. These nuts are usually roasted or toasted before consumption, but are sometimes ground to a paste and used in the production of pesto and sauces. In winter, the Mountains turn to heavier fare - the aforementioned sausage and bean dish is a common sight, as is roast pork and heavy stews with fried bread. Also prominent in the colder months is mulled wine - usually a cheap red from the regions vineyards or sometimes a bulk import from Elwynn - prepared with pepper, cinnamon when available, bay leaves, and anise when available. The region has also developed a distinct cheese: the odorous roquefort. This blue cheese is prepared with sheeps milk from the arid regions of the mountains and aged in the regions prominent cave systems. A strongly flavoured cheese, Redridge roquefort has found fans in the capital and remains a popular local food. It is used routinely in the creation of sauces, pastries, and pies, and often served with thick-cut bacon or with roast pumpkin. Elwynn Forest *Braising is in use. Pies. *Wild boar is eaten. The presence of sheep and cows suggests mutton and beef, and domestic pork is on the table. *Pumpkins are delicious. Pies. *Violet perch and crystal bass are found outside the city. Eaten fried. *Wine! *Turkeys in autumn, but oddly, not just autumn - they wander wild, which means they could appear at other times. See also: Spiced stuffing. * Smoking of goods using grapevine, apple, oak and walnut. Stormwind City The great metropolis of Stormwind City boasts a vibrant and varied cuisine. With abundant seas providing plentiful fish (including a number of exotic varieties from the recently risen coral reefs) and fertile lands surrounding it giving forth ample harvests, food is rarely in short supply. The city's location as a central trade hub and political superpower of the Alliance has also led to an influx of foreign foods and ideas into the local gastronomical world, and incredible fusions emerge on a regular basis. First and foremost in the diet is fish and shellfish. In addition to the salt-water fish taken from the bountiful sea, the brackish canal waters are host to a teeming population of catfish and scavenging crabs. These animals, fed fat on the city's waste, may appear disgusting at first, but they are a common sight on the tables of not just the poor, but the most prestigious restaurants and households in the city. Canal crabs steamed with pepper and a rich sauce are especially popular during winter. From the ocean, the bounty is too large to count, but certain trends have developed. Crabs and lobsters are steamed or boiled, served with sheep's butter and pepper. The countless varieties of fish dragged in with the nets are fried in oil after being breaded or battered, seasoned with nothing more than salt, and eaten with salads and berries. Better fish - the delicious sea-bass, for instance - are usually roasted or grilled instead. Anchovies are a particular delicacy, and the abundant octopi of the region are a common sight on the table (usually fried, sometimes stewed). It would be remiss not to mention the influx of 'bayou cuisine' from Theramore, which today survives primarily in Stormwind as a favourite in inns and among certain expatriates. Rich stews of crab and turtle meat are affordable and nourishing, usually thickened with okra or bogbean leaf (less frequently, since the fall of Theramore), and blackened fish are an increasingly common sight; dredged in spices and cooked until black, blackened fish forms a flavoursome base for a number of dishes. Orcish boar wine and jambalaya came with the influx, and remain popular despite their unpatriotic reputations. Crayfish have contributed to this cuisine in two ways: The Orcish taste for the invertebrates directly informed Theramore's bayou cuisine, and the 'crawdad' dishes found a waiting and hungry audience in the Dwarven Quarter, where the Ironforge taste for crayfish was well established. tree growing in Stormwind City.]] From the fields around Stormwind come a great variety of grains, fruits and vegetables. Pears and quinces feature frequently in pies and sauces, while apples grow abundantly in the city as well as the country and are eaten uncooked or in pies. One of the most common sights on the table is the pumpkin, which grows readily in the city's hinterlands. Roasted or boiled, this rich orange vegetable is popular with the poor and the rich alike. Barley is rarely consumed in any form except ale and beer in the city. Only among the destitute is it a common sight, except in the mage district (where barley pottage is a common side dish for its nourishing qualities, required for the energy-intensive study of sorcery.) Most common instead is wheat, with varying grades of it used for breads and pastries. A number of berries are found in the hinterlands around the city, and are consumed on a seasonal basis or preserved in syrup or turned to jams. Blackberries, blueberries, and strawberries feature most heavily in the cuisine of the capital, served up as desserts or for breakfast. One capital specialty is the pancake, a thin batter cooked on a griddle or pan. The capital specialty is a savoury pancake, often with vegetables, though sweet varieties are also prepared (often served with honey and berries). The soft cheeses are also often employed, with sweetened quark served in a rolled crepe. The main advantage of this dish to the population is its relatively easy preparation: They are quick to prepare and cook, and require little fuel compared to baking bread or making porridge. The Dwarven District has its own distinct cuisine, thanks to the high population of Dwarven and Gnomish labourers and residents. Sausage predominates over other meats, though it would be a mistake to assume that these sausages are the low-quality meats seen elsewhere. Mutton and lamb are both eaten happily by the residents, and the Gnomish population has created a small but booming market for unusual food supplements - and, in the broader city, for the delicious frozen custards and ice creams invented by the diminutive folk. Meat is usually eaten roasted in larger cuts, or stewed. When roasted, it is larded whenever possible by the insertion of either sheep's butter or lard under the skin of the meat, which creates a lush and moist mouthfeel and allows for flavours to seep through the meat. The usual meats are beef and lamb. Poultry is also consumed, especially by the wealthy. The love of cheese throughout the Kingdom continues in the city. Quark is used to create rich and sweet cheesecakes (often paired with the fresh berries from the hinterlands of the city), while mozzarella is used in a variety of dishes. Brie and camembert are usually eaten on bread or unmolested. The city's love of sweets is infamous. Cookies, cakes, candies, ice cream, and sweet berries are all found throughout the city, ranging from cheap and affordable berry preparations to exotic and highly expensive dishes for the tables of the rich. Confectioner's sugar and honey are both used to sweeten, as is molasses. One sweet stands out in the city's contribution to the culinary landscape: Nougat . A delicious mixture of sugar and beaten eggs, with nuts and dried or candied fruits, nougat is served on its own, and is increasingly popular in Alliance nations. Westfall Before its recent difficulties, the Westfall region was one of the most fertile lands in the Eastern Kingdoms. With rich soils and mild temperatures, the vast open plains were well-suited to cattle grazing and to the cultivation of grain and maize. Today, many of the farms stand empty and the land is still gripped by the spectre of hunger, but the land is finally beginning to recover from the dust storms started by the Great Cataclysm of 623. Beef dishes are a common sight in Westfall, even today. Typically, the meat is stewed or slow-roasted when possible, usually with root vegetables (carrots and potatos feature heavily), and then served with crusty wheat breads. Mutton is treated similarly, though more often boiled with spices. In the winter corned beef is a routine meal, prepared by long steeping in brine and then by repeated soaking and boiling in a herbed broth. The salt required for this is had in abundance thanks to the salt-farmers dwelling on the Western Coast. This proximity to the sea has had several other impacts on Westfall's traditional cuisine. First is the routine use of dried fish and shellfish in dishes further inland during the winters. Second consumption of seaweed along the coast, typically boiled in soups but sometimes ground and added to bread. Third, and perhaps most unusual of all, is the tradition of eating murlocs, which developed as the Fish-men began to appear in greater numbers several centuries ago. Along the coast, one of the most popular dishes is clam chowder, made from the small clams that thrive in the cool waters. The clams are chopped or finely diced and cooked in a broth of milk, spices, salt and sometimes cream, often with onions and potatos added to the mix. This soup is then thickened with flour, stale bread, or when it is available, unneeded hardtack. This food is especially popular in winter, as it is nourishing, best-served hot, and warms the belly. Popular further south is an Orcish-influenced dish: spiced chili crab. This dish consists of crabs taken from the beaches and the sea, roasted in their shells with a spiced butter mixture in the same dish, which is then refined with garlic and chilli before being poured over the roast crabs. This meal is typically served with bread to sop up the sauce, and often with some variety of strong drink. Inland, the focus moves away from seafood (though it never entirely disappears except in the mountainous regions and those bordering Elwynn) in favour of cattle and wild game. Game in general is a particular favourite in the region, but the great goretusk boars stand out as the pinnacle of the hunter's eating experience in the province. These large, orange-furred swine eat roots and vegetables in abundance, along with small animals, and grow abundantly fat on the plains. One common preparation of the Goretusk is the famed liver pie, which consists of minced Goretusk livers served in a thick brown gravy flavoured with rosemary, garlic, onion, and dill (and when available, black pepper), baked in a rich pastry crust and served hot and steaming. This is not the only use of the Goretusk (the bulk of its meat is in fact used first or converted to hams and bacon), but is a rural favourite. Game birds are also eaten in abundance, including grouse and pheasant. Among the poorer inhabitants, the region's great vultures are a common sight on the dinner table, and can be prepared in a surprisingly palatable way. The flesh of the birds is stewed with potatos, onions, carrots, celery, and whenever possible, murloc eyes (Which have a distinct flavour) and chunks of goretusk (flank when the going is good, snouts and hooves elsewise). This stew is thickened with flour and okra, giving it a characteristically thick and lush mouth-feel. Usually, this stew is served with bread or with barley porridge. Swamp-land Provinces *Fish. *Lots of salt. *Orcish influences. The Kingdom's south-eastern territories are situated in the Swamp of Sorrows. This brackish, humid, land-scarce province offers very little in the way of agricultural opportunities and was traditionally only sparsely settled; following the First War, it has been nearly empty and desolate and what little reclaimed land was available was largely lost to the seeping corruption of the Blasted Lands. Subsequently, the the provincial cuisine is the most distinct and disparate of all the styles of cooking in the Kingdom, with a strong reliance on fish, wild plants, and game. This is the central irony of the swamp: to outsiders, it is a death-trap, but to locals it offers an incredible diversity and availability of foodstuffs. Between this abundance and the strong Orcish presence in the swamps, this particular provincial cuisine is unique, though most readily comparable to that of Theramore, where similar conditions ruled. Wild Foods The strangest addition to the table in the region is not any particular animal or spice; it is instead the ready inclusion of otherwise marginalized and ignored plants. The fresher waters of the western swamp favour the growth of saxifrage and sizeable beds of water purslane on low, lightly-flooded soil banks. Both greens are readily gathered and eaten as part of meals, and rarely cooked, while equally common is the stinging nettle which is never served without being processed. Cat's tail rushes form a frequent contribution to the diet, and local bread is often baked with cat's tail pollen included with the imported wheat and rye flour. In the eastern swamps, wild celery grows in abundance and is an almost mandatory component of salads, soups and stews. The bitter sea plantain - which thrives in saline marshes - is also a frequent companion on the table, mixed with the milder buckshorn plantain. The rhizomes of the various rushes and reeds of the swamp are ubiqituious in the local cuisine, usually served roasted, sometimes pounded and boiled. They provide a palatable starch, often used to substitute for the more common turnips, carrots and potatoes of conventional Azerothian cooking. Club rushes are especially favoured. Fish Game The Orcish Influence Alone among the provinces of Azeroth, the Swamp of Sorrows is home to a sizeable population of orcs - one that, by some estimates, sometimes exceeds that of the human resettlers. Classics of Orcish cuisine evolved first in the swamps, where new ingredients in a new world gave inventive Orcs an entirely new flavour palette. The most successful of the resulting classics has become a favourite of the human population of the province as well: jambalaya. A spicy combination of sausage, seafood, celery, onions and peppers served with rice cooked in the soupy dark broth that results, Swamp jambalaya makes extensive use of the local wild celery, crayfish, and crocolisk meat. While the local conditions do not favour rice growing and the original swamp jambalaya was made with local grass seeds and millets, rice is now a major import into the region. An additional and unusual influence from Orcish cuisine is the popularity of raw meats in the region. Between the humidity and relative heat making it difficult to preserve meat for long periods and the example set by the Orcs, it is not uncommon to see freshly killed animals eaten raw on the table. In order to accomodate for more conservative tastes and for older or less reliable meats, a subsequent development has been the rise of the ceviche - a preparation of finely diced raw meat or fish marinaded for several hours in lemon juice (often with nettles and sea plantains for flavour), eaten at room temperature. This new dish is already attracting the attention of chefs in Stormwind, where the great availability of fresh seafood makes the prospect particularly enticing. Balor The island of Balor has been largely uninhabitated since its fall in the First War, but previously enjoyed a lively culture born of its position as a major trade stop between Stormwind and the Dwarven Kingdoms. Its current cuisine consists of salt fish and whatever the miserable wretches dwelling on it can scrape off the stony shores. The continuing legacy of Balor's former glory is found in capital cuisine - especially its dishes focusing on the cold-water fishes and shellfish that thrive around the now deserted island. It is also preserved in the form of champ, a mixture of mashed potatoes with spring onions and pepper, which has become popular in parts of Khaz Modan as a cheap and flavoursome addition to pies. Duskwood Duskwood's cuisine did not differ markedly from that of Elwynn until recently, when it fell into the shadow of Karazhan. This state of perpetually overcast skies and creeping blight has led to radical alterations in the region's diet - so much so that many question whether it is accurate to say that Duskwood has cuisine at all, so much as mere eating to survive. These people are wrong, as even in adversity, chefs labour to create palatable fare; often, they succeed with such passion that their emergency ingredients become common and desired delicacies. The most noteworthy of these are the faux crab cakes cooked in Darkshire, a town located far from the sea. The great shadow blanketing Duskwood unleashed with it a great many spiders, some of them truly gigantic and horrendous. In a spot of desperation, the locals turned to eating them, and the ersatz crab cake was born. Made with ground meat from the spider's leg, mixed with salt and pepper and a variety of spices, then breaded and fried in a skillet, these cakes are succulent, tangy, and surprisingly popular in the region. While the consumption of spider is not new to the cuisine of Stormwind, it rarely makes up the entirety of a dish, and is used instead to thicken dishes or as a 'filler' meat. Also roaming the woods in vast numbers are wolves, savage with hunger. While wolf is sometimes eaten in Elwynn by hunters, it is not a common sight on the table as it tends to be tough and gamey. In Duskwood, wolves are eaten on a regular basis, as they encroach on barren fields and starving herds, and the region's difficulties allow for little waste of any foodstuff. The preferred method is to roast or boil the tougher parts with whatever is on hand (usually grains and field roots), but there are exceptions. Skirt steaks and other tender cuts are rubbed with a spice mix and then grilled as a kebab over open flames (often basted repeatedly with a spiced beer or wine mix during), and eaten as a delicacy. The gaminess of the meat balances the rich spice profiles, preventing them from becoming overpowering. The vast variety of mushrooms that grow in the dismal woods and in once-fertile fields also present opportunities for the inventive chef. While mushrooms are largely consumed whole or in stews throughout the Kingdom, their use has reached its pinnacle in Duskwood. They are fried, steamed, boiled, chopped, roast, stuffed, and poached. They are wrapped in cabbage leaves with diced onions and celery. They are pureed and eaten on toast. Mushroom pies are especially popular, often combined with tougher parts of the wolf or with spider meat. The predominant grain in the region is now the oat, as the soils are no longer capable of sustaining strong wheat and barley crops. Oat porridge is served with most meals; though bland, it is filling. Oats are also milled into flour for making 'bread' and oatcakes with, used in stews and soups, and used as a stuffing for what poultry is available. One regional specialty that has yet to catch on elsewhere is 'zombie juice' - an incredibly potent liquor made by combining the region's moonshine with the fermented juice of rot-blossoms. This liquor is rarely made with high-quality alcohol of any stripe, and cases of blindness have been reported (though whether this is due to the influence of the rot-blossoms or poor distilling technique is uncertain.) Fermented dishes are also common out of necessity. Milk swiftly curdles and then sours due to the malign influence on the land; the locals have adapted by taking the curds and turning them to quark and cottage cheeses, and the souring milk is turned to alcohol (with the addition of sugar) or innoculated by adding remnants from prior batches of succesfully 'preserved' milk or sourdough crusts, which creates a sour (but drinkable, and safe) milk product. Similar procedures are undertaken for pickled vegetables. While Duskwood's new cuisine is still developing, the influx of Gilneans to the region and the necessity of invention are certain to produce exciting new dishes in the near future. in Stormwind City.]] =Drinking Culture= Wine Wine is routinely drunk in the Kingdom of Stormwind, or converted to vinegar. The bulk of these wines are red, though some vineyards do produce white wines and sparkling wines - typically for sale in the capital or among certain noble families. Wine is usually drunk without watering or adulteration, though mulled wine is a common drink in the winter, and the practice of sopping bread in low-quality wine remains alive and well. Red Wines The most famed product of the Kingdom of Stormwind is almost certainly its red wines. The rich soils and temperate of Elwynn Forest, areas of Westfall, and parts of Duskwood all lend themselves to red grape varietals, and the wine-making culture has developed around these. The most common cultivar employed in the vineyards of the Kingdom is the pinot noir. This distinguished grape, though fragile, can produce an extraordinary number of flavour profiles and wine varieties when handled appropriately. Grown on vineyards dating back centuries (some nearly as far as the Kingdom's foundation), the pinot noir-derived wines of Elwynn forest are exported world-wide and grace the tables of Kings in their finest bottlings. This grape is also responsible for the majority of the region's white wines. Once nearly as abundant, the specific cultivar employed in the production of Northshire Red - a sweet red with a slight tart undertone - has been nearly wiped out, and bottles of the wine now fetch a premium. While the Northshire vineyards are recovering from their burning at the hands of the Blackrock Clan, it will be many years before they produce their excellent wines again. The third main red wine cultivar in abundant use is the merlot, which produces high quality wine with a less varied flavour range - and accordingly less chance of mistakes - than the pinot noir. Other varietals in use include shiraz and cabernet. While not a distinct varietal, the region is also well known for its fondness for ports of various varieties. Port is a red wine with distilled grape spirit (sometimes brandy, more typically unaged grappa) added to arrest fermentation, and is typically sweet. The most popular variety in the capital is tawny port, which is aged in wood barrels, creating a more balanced flavour profile. Beer The most popular beverage in the Kingdom second to wine is beer in various forms, with the most popular of all being ale. The bulk of the beers brewed in the Kingdom utilize barley, though certain brewers prefer wheat or even oat mixtures, and are generally locally-produced and sold by ale-wives and small-scale operations. The bulk of Stormwind's beers are unremarkable and often low-quality, but affordable. This is not the case of the beers produced in Southern Westfall, where a strong Dwarven influence spread the popularity of lagers and of beer as a craftsman's pride to the local population. Here, wheat is a common addition to the mash recipe and a number of premium drinks are beginning to circulate. In the capital, the preference is for strongly flavoured ales, which make heavy use of bottomland hops from the city's hinterlands. This particular variety of hops has a particularly strong scent and a slightly mellower flavour profile than most, and when used correctly it creates the distinct flavour profile of Capital ales - bitter without being overpowering, allowing the underlying complexities of the malt and yeast cultures to shine through. The majority of Stormwind's beers utilize hops, though rural communities sometimes still make do without and instead use traditional ale recipes, or utilize the herb mixtures for oat-derived stouts in preference to the ales. The herbs in common use for this purpose include mageroyal, heather, rosemary, mugwort, and ginger; rarely, more exotic herbs and spices are featured, sometimes including the mildly poisonous earthroot. Also popular are imported beers from the Dwarven Kingdoms and from the Argent enclaves of Lordaeron. These beers are most frequently available in the capital and provincial centres, but are also routinely available in inns located along the main trade roads. Various dwarven stouts are the most common such import. Cider Where there are apples, there is cider. This is true in the Kingdom of Azeroth, and especially in Elwynn and the capital. Cider ranks among the most popular beverages in these regions, produced in both alcoholic and non-alcoholic forms (though the latter is drunk only when apples are in season, as it does not keep well.) The ciders preferred in the city vary from season to season. In summer, lighter ciders with a lower alcohol content are preferred; the sweltering heat and humidity creating a strong thirst in the people. In the winter, stronger ciders are served hot, to both warm and fortify the body against the fiece winds that buffet the capital. These same trends do hold inland, but to a lesser extent. The apples are first ground to a pulp or smashed when grinding is not an option, then placed in a press to extract the juices. This juice is then either sold directly, or more frequently, set aside to ferment and then aged or sold as needed. One popular variety adds additional sugar and bottles early, creating a fizzing beverage. Distilled Beverages Tequila While tequila - liquor made from agave plants, often confused with cacti by drinkers - is not a product of any of Stormwind's territories, it has nonetheless eked out a strong place in the Kingdom's bars and taverns. Brought to the Kingdom by sailors and traders dealing with the New Horde during the relative peace of the Second Interbellum Period, tequila began as a variant of the Orcish's various cactus beers and ciders, mixed freely with various varieties of cacti and desert fruits. This early tequila was an inferior product to the modern variety, but 'primed the pump' for what was to come. True tequila came to prominence when a band of Kul Tirans from Northwatch and Tiragarde set out to explore the Barrens, and brought back agave fruit. This was brewed into a passable 'wine', which was in turn distilled on a whim - and tequila blanco was born. This new beverage was then traded with Horde parties as well as Alliance supply ships, where it began to make its way across Kalimdor. The most popular form of tequila in Stormwind - reposado - came about during the initial shipments of tequila from Ratchet. This tequila, stored in wooden barrels, sat in barrels for four long months over a customs dispute. By the time it was finally made available on the market, it had aged and taken on a vibrant yellow hue and a distinct flavour profile that made it an instant success. Today, tequila is imported in large quantities from Goblin organizations and the handful of human-operated producers, typically in reposado or anejo forms, and is a popular beverage with the Kingdom's sailors, dockside workers, and dedicated drinkers. Whiskeys The Kingdom of Azeroth has been the centre of a small whiskey industry since shortly after the Second War, when Dwarven liquor began to appear in great quantity during the reconstruction. With the people developing a taste for Dwarven spirits - of which whiskey from Loch Modan is the finest of all - a number of farmers invested in stills, and in the intervening years have begun to produce a variety of whiskeys. The most commonly drunk throughout the Kingdom is white lightning - moonshine - which is often produced and sold without regard to the levied taxes on this prized good. While this is illegal, it remains largely uninvestigated and unpunished as the Kingdom faces larger threats - and many of the guards, magistrates, and other officials enjoy a glass from time to time. Cheap and readily available in farming communities and the capital, moonshine is of varying quality depending on the skill, patience, and level of care provided by its producers. A number of producers also age their products in charred oak barrels, in the Dwarven fashion. The resulting whiskey has a distinct flavour from the Dwarven product, however; the barley is not smoked with peat (which is abundant only in the swamp provinces) and as a result, the heavy smokiness is not present, leading to a more floral and vegetal-influenced flavour profile. Stormwind whiskey is a relatively new product, but one gaining in popularity world-wide due to its high quality. Rum Rum is a specialty of Stormwind, and the majority of the Kingdom's supply comes from Elwynn Forest, where sugar cane fields thrive in some of the open areas. The cane is taken and pressed for juice, which is either converted to molasses and sugar, or turned into rum. Originally a rural drink, the sweet rums produced in Elwynn were purchased in large quantities by Stormwind's army and navy to supply the troops with alcohol rations during the First War, spreading the taste for the beverage to all social strata of the Kingdom. Today, rum is enjoyed in a variety of forms throughout Azeroth, but remains especially popular in Elwynn. Imported Southsea Rum is a particular favourite of the aristocracy. Mead A somewhat uncommon beverage, mead is nonetheless produced in the Kingdom in small quantities and drunk for health benefits or at special events. The bulk of mead consumed in the Kingdom is however a Dwarven import, typically flavoured with herbs or flowers, and usually seen at celebrations in early spring. One noteworthy local variety is the mead brewed by the King's own servants from his private bee-hives. This mead is kept largely for private consumption in the Castle, but rarely a case is sent to a loyal servant when there is a surplus. This mead is also used for public celebrations of momentuous events, such as the fall of a great enemy, and is sometimes distributed to troops about to depart for war as a sign of the Kingdom's thanks. =OOC Matters= This article is not intended to be comprehensive, and freely blends fanon with actual canon. This section will be expanded to explain the rationale for certain decisions and provide references, where appropriate, for the consumption of certain foodstuffs that may be surprising, as well as to highlight what isn't 'real' canon. *The 5.3 change from Pinot Noir to Dalaran Noir has not been included in this article, but will be referenced in Cuisine of Dalaran, which is a much more complex affair than Stormwind's relatively straight-forward fare. In fact, I'm going to take a moment here to say this: The 5.3 naming changes were pointless and absurd. Tol Barad Coconut Rum? Really? Hell only knows what else they changed. *Shiraz and cabernet are not referred to in any quest or other text. *Northshire's status has never been confirmed post-cataclysm. *No specific reference is ever made to the types of bean eaten in Redridge. *Generally, it is safe to assume that a reference to particular spicing or herbs is a fanon addition. *The presence of pine trees in Redridge is attested to in old RPG stuff, and where there are pine trees, there's usually pine-nuts in the local food. *No one ever talks about turnips except the damn Pandamen. *Literally everything about rum and tequila, except sweet rum really is a product of Elwynn. *See above re: beer, except bottomland hops (TLG) *The old distinction between New and Old world plants (e.g. tomatos, corn, potatos) simply doesn't exist in Azeroth. Potatos are attested to in Stormwind's cooking from before the first war, for one particularly strong example. *The exact preparation of most of the Westfall dishes is fanon, but based on traditional recipes for similar dishes or, when possible, quest text. *Murloc really is a fixture of Westfall and Redridge cuisine, but the exact origins and date of this consumption are unknown. Category:Food Category:Kingdom of Stormwind